Yuichan's Bedtime Story
by Akodo Tim
Summary: How would you explain Eva to a four-year-old? R&R please.


**Disclaimer:** All characters originally appearing in Neon Genesis: Evangelion contained in this fiction are copyright GAINAX, Project EVA, Movic, AD Vision and Manga Entertainment and are used without permission. You have my permission to post this fanfic on your own site, providing you ask me for permission first.

**Yui-chan's Bedtime Story**

By Akodo Tim

**Chapter One: Bedtime, Yui-chan!**

The light from little red lamp on the bedside table cast a warm, cheery glow about the small bedroom as it reflected off the flowery wallpaper. Toys, games, and stuffed animals lay scattered about, threatening to trip up the young man who stood by the bed if he made one wrong step. The man's attention, however, was not on the clutter, but rather on the little girl who sat, cross-legged, on the duvet.

"Ready for a story, Yui-chan?" he asked, smiling warmly at the child.

The brown-haired girl nodded; the lamp's light shone brightly off her enthusiastic eyes as she sat on her bed in her pyjamas.

"All right then, you get into bed and I'll find you one."

As the four-year-old hopped under her covers, the man glanced over the handful of books lying haphazardly on the shelf. "Let's see what we have here..." He paused in his search and blinked. "Yui-chan, where have all your books gone?"

"They're around here, oto-san."

Her father looked at the mess in the little girl's room and sighed. "We'll have to make do with what you have here, I guess." He pulled out a leather-bound book. "How about 'Black Beauty'?"

Yui shook her head. "That one's too long."

"Okay." He put the book back and produced a much thinner one. "Anne of the Island?"

"Boring."

"Green Eggs and-"

"_No!_"

"Little Red Riding-?"

"No, oto-san." The little girl stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "You read that one last night."

Her father's face gave a look of mock confusion as he scratched the back of his neck. "I did? Oh. How about 'The Thousand Cranes?'" he asked, reaching for another book.

"No, that's a sad story. I want a happy one."

"A happy one, huh?" He peered at the books again. "I don't see any more happy stories here."

"But, oto-san..." she whined.

Her father gave her a stern look. "Maybe you'd find them if you learned to clean your room once in a while." The man nudged a stuffed chibi cat with the toe of his slipper.

"Hmph." Yui flopped back onto her pillow, her arms folded in disappointment. Her face was a mask of frustration. Suddenly, she brightened up. "I know!" She sat up again and looked at her father. "You can make me up a story, oto-san!"

Her father looked at her in surprise. "M-me? But I don't know any-"

"Pleeeeease?" she whined. Her wide, blue eyes sparkled in the light of the bedside lamp.

The man raised an eyebrow as he ran his hand through his short, brown hair. "Your mother's been giving you lessons, hasn't she?"

The girl feigned a look of innocence.

He sighed. "The things I do for you... Okay. You get comfy, then, and I'll make up a story for you."

The girl's eyes lit up as she snuggled under the covers. "A happy one?"

"A happy one. But it'll be a little sad too."

"That's okay." She paused. "Will it be scary?"

The girl's father thought for a second. "Maybe a little. But not much."

"Will there be... kissing?"

He nodded. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ewww..."

The girl's father cocked his head at her and raised an eyebrow. "Look, do you want a story or not?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"That's good for you. Got Momo-chan?"

The girl nodded and proudly held up a yellow, careworn stuffed rabbit, which got a loud kiss on the tip of its nose from her father before being cuddled again in her arms.

The man pulled up a small plastic chair that was sitting at a desk along the wall. He sat on it gingerly, testing it, until he was satisfied the flimsy piece of furniture could support him. 

"All right. Where to begin?" Shinji Ikari looked up at the tiled ceiling and took a deep breath. "I guess I'll have to start at the beginning, won't I?" He lowered his gaze and looked at his daughter's waiting eyes with a smile. "Once upon a time, there was a prince..."

* * *

A/N: This is more of a writing exercise for me than anything else. It's a change of pace from the darker stories I've been writing. Expect much sugary WAFFiness to come - after all, it's a bedtime story, right?

[09-05-2003]


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